So it’s almost your farewell to the endless soap opera that is Chelsea.

You’ve delivered us yet another trophy, yet your tenure was always going to end in tears. In fact it pretty much started in tears.

I admit Chelsea fans aren’t exactly the most forgiving supporters but the memory was still fresh from the series of Champions League games with Liverpool where your dislike for Chelsea was clear.

You replaced a man who the fans loved, Roberto di Matteo. He was flawed as a manager but had a respect for the club and the supporters.

You wanted this job, yet one thing was missing that may have won us over — humility.

All we needed was acknowledgement that things hadn’t been great between us and you’d try to rebuild that particular bridge.

Your tactics have seemed baffling at times, too. Resting players in games where we threw points away points (home and away to Southampton) or woefully losing at home to QPR. These not only smacked of ineptitude but a lack of respect for the opposition.

I have not shown you much thanks here but I would like to thank you for your apparent humility during the trophy presentation. You looked uncomfortable, like an interloper, and I liked that. This was in contrast to the crass embarrassment of seeing John Terry for the second year running crash the party and show an absolute lack of tact or class while lifting a European trophy which his colleagues had earned.

I believe that it is the players who have grown into winners and they would probably have done that with Di Matteo. But, you were there, you have guided us to a victory.

So goodbye then, you’ll always receive a welcome at the Bridge but it’s unlikely to be a warm one.